I was inspired to start this by a paragraph I remember from Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh in which Renton (for those of you who arne't familiar with the book/film he is the protagonist) discusses 'socially acceptable drugs and addictions'.
So people I want your opinions: what is it that separates alcoholics from junkies? the illegality is obvious but both are serious, chronic addictions - yet alcoholics are more often met with pity, junkies met with disgust. More's the point, what makes it acceptable for somebody to be a smoker, but not a drinker in the same sense? Why is it that I can go into a shop tomorrow and buy beer and cigarettes, but not marijuana or other similar drugs? When all is said and done the difference in dangers between many of these things are small: if you smoke you will die younger, alcoholics die younger, those who take the majority of drugs die younger (though obviously I do not suggest that alcohol is as dangerous as heroin, MDMA etc).
So my final question for all of you: How did society decide that i may have a cup of coffee every morning, and be addicted to that, but that i should not be addicted to other substances, no matter how harmless said addiction can in some cases be? Furthermore, when was it that society narrowed it's mind, allowing us all to try alcohol, cigarettes, gambling... but not minor drugs of an equally, if not less, addictive nature?
Anybody can get involved, the aim is to get eveyrbody thinking, debating, and putting across views that perhaps they would not otherwise be able to express on this forum.
So people I want your opinions: what is it that separates alcoholics from junkies? the illegality is obvious but both are serious, chronic addictions - yet alcoholics are more often met with pity, junkies met with disgust. More's the point, what makes it acceptable for somebody to be a smoker, but not a drinker in the same sense? Why is it that I can go into a shop tomorrow and buy beer and cigarettes, but not marijuana or other similar drugs? When all is said and done the difference in dangers between many of these things are small: if you smoke you will die younger, alcoholics die younger, those who take the majority of drugs die younger (though obviously I do not suggest that alcohol is as dangerous as heroin, MDMA etc).
So my final question for all of you: How did society decide that i may have a cup of coffee every morning, and be addicted to that, but that i should not be addicted to other substances, no matter how harmless said addiction can in some cases be? Furthermore, when was it that society narrowed it's mind, allowing us all to try alcohol, cigarettes, gambling... but not minor drugs of an equally, if not less, addictive nature?
Anybody can get involved, the aim is to get eveyrbody thinking, debating, and putting across views that perhaps they would not otherwise be able to express on this forum.
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